When He Falls
by C.BAngel900
Summary: Danzo had ruined Sai's life before and now, even after death, he's doing it again. The only difference, this time Sai has love and a family. How far will be go to protect them? Not just from Danzo, but also from himself.
1. The Awakening

**A\N: Hey guys, I hope you like the story. The plot is mine, but I do not own the**

 **characters or Naruto. If you're a fan of SaixIno like I am that's great! If you're not...**

 **That's cool too! This chapter's a bit short, but they should get longer, I promise! I'm**

 **gonna try for two chapters a week, so bear with me :) Enjoy!**

 **Ch. 1: The Awakening**

* * *

It was way too early in the morning when Ino awoke to the sound of muttering and scribbling? Scrawling? Stroking? "Ugh", she was too tired and half asleep to use the right verb,or get up. So instead she called for her husband to go and check what was making the noise.

"Sai, can you check what that noise is?"

There was no response, so Ino tried again.

"Sai, will you _please_ go check what that noise is?"

Despite using her best sweet voice there's still no movement, not even a groan. Surprised, Ino looked over at her partner, only to see empty bed space. She sighed, swung her legs overt he bed, took a step, and slipped on something that was, suspiciously, more slippery than her usual floor, sending it flying in the air.

"Ahhh!" She yelled as she fell to the floor.

Ino slowly got back up and looked at what she had slipped on. It was just a normal piece of paper, but on the other side she could see that there was something drawn on it. She flipped it over and gasped as she studied the picture.

It seemed to be a human like creature, in the sense that it had a similar anatomy to a human (two arms, two legs, and a human-ish face), but that's where the similarities stopped.

This _thing_ had giant almost bat like wings, pulled shrunken lips that revealed rows of knife sharp fangs, horns, and monstrous hungry eyes, that seemed to look right into Ino's soul.

It was just a picture, but it gave her chills nonetheless, and there was only one person she knew who could draw like that.

"Sai, if this is a joke, it's not funny."

Ino took a look around the room and immediately noticed that the floor was completely covered in these pictures. She knew that her husband sometimes missed certain social cues,but she didn't think that he would do something like this just because she told him to, "Tell better jokes." or " Be more funny."

She made her way through the room and found her husband in front of their bed, hunched over a thick (slowly thinning) sketchbook, muttering incoherently.

"Sai, it's really early. Why don't you come back to bed?". She spoke gently, so she didn't startle him.

It didn't seem to matter, however, because he didn't even acknowledge her presence.

Instead he placed two fingers to his mouth and muttered his signature jutsu.

"Ninja art: super beast scroll."

Normally this jutsu would've made Sai's painting come to life, but now it did nothing, which was very odd, but he didn't seem to care. He just ripped the page, balled it up, threw it over his shoulder, and started a new one. Ino, on the other hand, was very relieved to know that he couldn't bring it to life.

"Sai, if you can hear me say something or do something, just let me know. " Ino struggled to

keep her voice level, but Sai didn't even flinch.

"Sai. Sai!". Ino half yelled instead of fully yelling in an attempt not to wake her son, but her half yell seemed to be just as loud.

Now, the sensible part of her mind seemed to scream, "You're a ninja! Do something or get some help!" But she didn't, she couldn't, she was frozen in place calling his name, getting more panicked by the second.

She gripped his shoulders not just to try, once again, to get his attention, but also to steady herself. As she did this however she pushed Sai's upper body back causing his head to roll back, unsupported. Tears began to fall down Ino's face as terror filled her eyes, but even then Sai didn't hesitate to keep drawing.

Ino had always thought that she would be good in these kinds of situations, and yet, here she was unable to do anything but call his name. If she hadn't been scared half to death she would have thought the irony of all this was funny, but she was scared and it certainly wasn't funny. Finally she'd had enough.

"Sai! Sai! Sai!"

She practically shrieked in his ear, not caring that she was being loud, or that she sounded completely panicked. He stopped drawing.

After a few moments his face contorted, his eyebrows twitched, and his eyes fluttered open.

"I-Ino?"

It was only a faint whisper, but she heard it, and it was enough for her. It was an acknowledgement, a sign, she breathed a small sigh of relief.


	2. The Aftermath

**A\N: Hey everyone** **hope you enjoyed the last chapter, this one's a little shorter than the first one, but with any luck you'll still enjoy it.**

 **;** **)**

 **Ch. 2: The Aftermath**

* * *

"Are you alright? What the heck was that?!"

Ino knew it wasn't Sai's fault, (maybe) but she still had to work to keep anger out of her voice. She was facing him now, but he hadn't looked her in the eye.

"I-I-I don't-" He raised his left hand to the same side of his face, groaned, and inhaled sharply.

Seeing the confusion on his face and hearing how soft and broken his voice sounded, all of Ino's potential anger melted away.

"What are you- I- We?"

She put her left hand on the right side of his face, and gave him the softest, most gentle smile she could muster.

"It's okay, I'm here now. Just... take it one word at a time."

He looked into her eyes and took a breath, she struggled not to cry.

"Why... are we... sitting on... the floor?"

He spoke slowly and cautiously, as if the words were foreign to him.

"That's what I wanted to ask you. You were down here making all these paintings, why?" she spoke very gently, something Sai suddenly took offense to.

"You don't have to treat me like a baby, you know." Sai retorted.

Ino felt like he had slapped her in the face.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

He felt ashamed of himself.

"Water under the bridge." Ino assured him that it was alright.

She would have time to hold that over his head later, right now she needed answers.

"So the pictures?"

He looked around for the first time and noticed the pictures. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with an unusual feeling of panic. His mind was racing, right alongside his heart. He felt Ino put both of her hands on his face.

He closed his eyes and breathed, breathed her in. He breathed the fact that she was real and there in. He sighed, and began.

"I'm not sure about the pictures. I don't remember getting out of bed, much less making them. All I know is that I went to bed as usual and then woke up here, with you."

He sounded really convincing, but Ino's family was known for being masters of the mind. She knew that there was something missing from Sai's story.

"What was it like?"

Sai looked at her confused.

"While you were blacked out.

Was there a voice or an image?"

Sai should've known better, he was caught.

"It was like a dreamless sleep, but there was a voice. It didn't sound human or like it was speaking any language I know, but I could understand it. I don't remember what it was saying anymore though."

Ino was still really suspicious, but on top of being confused now he sounded, scared? It was unusual for him and he his it well, but she was his wife, she knew him too well for that. She decided not to press him anymore, she didn't want his condition to worsen.

Sai saw the worry on Ino's face and wondered if he had told her too much.

"I'm sure there's a good explanation. They range anywhere from stress to strong desire to paint, right?"

Ino couldn't tell who he was trying convince, but either way, it wasn't working.

"Look Sai, you can be honest with me. Whatever's going on we can take care of it together."

If she was trying to make him feel guilty, she was going about it the right way.

"I'm feeling a little... restless. I'm gonna go for a walk, clear my head."  
He stood up slowly, so he didn't fall.

"Sai, please don't go."

He could feel his heart being crushed by every word she spoke, but he still walked to the door. He turned around and looked at Ino.

"Everything's gonna be alright."

She felt a tear slip down her cheek.

"I'll be back soon, I promise."

He gave her one of his signature Sai smiles and left the room.

That's when she knew something was really wrong. She just stared at the door, wondering when he would walk through it again.


	3. The Discovery

**A\N: See told you they would get longer! :) I just wanted to let you guys know that italicized words are thoughts written in the point of view of the character. Also, btw, I still don't own Naruto or Boruto or any of their characters.**

 **Ch. 3: The Discovery**

* * *

Sai walked, silently, down the street, going over the night's events in his head, but he found that everything suddenly seemed... foggy.

He tried to focus, and think about what he knew. He knew that he had made a bunch of weird paintings, he knew that he didn't remember everything, but these were obvious, it was the less obvious things he worried about.

Things like, the fact that before he had woken up the voice was so loud he thought his head would explode, or that he remembered exactly what the voice had been saying. He also knew that rather than "go to sleep last night" the moment his head hit the pillow, he had blacked out. Most mysterious of all was that he didn't tell Ino any of this, quite the opposite in fact, he had lied to her face about it.

"It's just because she was already scared enough or- ahhhhhg!" Sai's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden sharp feeling. His hands flew to his head as pain overwhelmed his senses and, for the second time that night, he blacked out.

* * *

Sai walked down a pitch black corridor for what felt like hours. The only light coming from memories that, occasionally, would play on either side from him, then disappear. There was, however, only one memory he was concerned with, the one at the end of the hall, that had yet to disappear.

As he drew closer to it he began to realize that it was the only memory making noise, and it wasn't just any noise, it was the voice of the man he hated most. Sai broke into a run, and when he had the memory in his sight, even when he saw that it had a big lock on it, he didn't stop. He kept going and broke through, to the memory.

Sai was now living the memory, he had no idea where he was or when this had happened, this was probably attributable to the lock on the memory. He didn't have too much time to focus on that however, because he suddenly heard two men conversing, though, because he was hiding, he couldn't see them. Sai got the feeling that he wasn't supposed hear their conversation, so naturally, he listened in.

" ...He's coming along nicely, he should be the perfect vessel for you."  
This man had a cold, harsh voice. Sai recognized it as the voice of his old boss.

"Good, as long as you hold up your end of the deal, I'll take care of mine."

This voice was much tougher and deep, it didn't even sound human.

"Emotionless idiot, doesn't even know what's coming to him."

That set off an alarm in Sai's mind.

"Emotionless... idiot?"

Suddenly the cold voiced man spoke again.

"I hoped you don't mind using that memory lock technique, we have an unwelcomed guest."

"Memory lock!?"

Sai realized what was happening too late. Suddenly a the raspy voiced, thing, showed up in front of Sai. Sai barely had enough time to notice that he looked exactly liken the picture he had drawn, before the memory ended.

* * *

Sai awoke on his knees, with his shoulders being shaken by a familiar, yellow haired face.

"Sai! Hey, Sai, wake up!"

A groan was the only indication Sai had the strength to give that he was alive.

"Geez, I thought you were dead!"

"That's pretty dumb considering you can sense chakra." Sai weakly responded.

"Yep he's fine." Naruto dryly responded to Sai's typical commentary, feeling less worried and much more offended.

Sai rolled his eyes and groaned, when he brought a hand to his head he realized how sweaty he was.

"Yeah, you were sweating like a madman, what's wrong?"

"Don't worry about it. I just need to get home."

"Maybe I should come with you, in case something happens again." Naruto seemed to really be worried that something would go wrong.

Sai considered Naruto's offer and decided that, while it would be nice to have someone to watch over him, he just needed to be alone to think.

"I'll be alright, but thanks." Sai have him a slight smile.

"Fine, but be careful and yell really loud before you pass out next time." The way Naruto said it sounded more like an order than a friendly suggestion.

"I certainly try, but question. Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, uh, I fell asleep at the office again, I was just on my way home."

Naruto sheepishly put his hand behind his head. The story seemed to check out for Sai, but only because he was too tired to realized that they weren't anywhere near Naruto's house.

They parted ways and Sai's thoughts immediately drifted to the memories he'd seen.

 _I remember that Ino told me something about a weird looking memory after the Land of Silence, but I didn't really pay attention to it back then._  
He regretted that.  
The good news was that he, more or less, understood what was going on. The bad news was, what was going on. He remembered something that Danzo had said many times before, " An empty vessel is the easiest to fill." He just never thought he'd meant it in the literal sense.

He also never thought that Danzo would be back to ruin his life again.

 _Silly me for thinking things might be a little smoother, now that I've moved on from all that crud._

That's when something occurred to him, something so wonderful and beautiful that he was surprised he hasn't seen it before. He had indeed moved on from those years of his life, the proof was at home, probably worried sick waiting for him to come back. Despite his fatigue Sai found himself running, he had a home to get back to, and he had to do it now.


	4. The Pieces

**A\N** **: Hello again, guys! Here's the latest installment of my story, I just wanted to let you known that this chapter takes place at the same time as the other one. So while Sai is doing his thing, Ino is doing this. As usual I don't own Naruto and I hope you guys like the chapter. :)**

* * *

Ino went back up to her room hoping a little bit of cleaning would distract her worried mind. She went around picking up all the disturbing pictures she could find, ripping them up, and tossing them into a trash bag.

She was so busy, "distracting" herself, that she didn't notice her son standing in front of the doorway. She also barely notice when he grabbed a picture from the floor, right before she did. He looked at the picture.

"Mom, what's this?" Ino heard his voice and looked up for the first time.

"Ahh! Inojin, you're supposed to be asleep!" She put a hand over her heart.

"You and dad were being super loud." He stated matter-of-factly. "Now, what's this?"

"Don't worry about it, dear. Just give it to me." She made a grab for it, but Inojin jerked it back.

"You look... worried. You can tell me ya know, I'm not such a little kid anymore."

He really wasn't pulling any punches.

"It's nothing... sweetie." She awkwardly added the last part in an attempt to make him think she was fine. She tried to get him to hand it over again.

"Just... hand it... over."

Inojin could feel the, "cause if you don't you'll feel the grounding wrath of your mother," that Ino didn't say, but he also felt something else too. Inojin could hear Ino's voice getting more tense, as she tried to hide her emotions from her voice.

"Mom..." He looked at the picture again, but this time he studied it closely. He looked at all the intricate lines and details that made the picture come to life, he let out a sigh and pointed to the pictures in his and Ino's hands.

"Dad made all these, didn't he." He said it more as a statement then a question.

Despite Ino's efforts, a tear gets past her defenses and slips down her cheek. Inojin pulled her into a hug, that made her feel loads lighter, and then pulled back. He looked down at the picture again and didn't look up as he spoke.

"If you want it that bad then you can have it, this is the stuff of nightmares anyway." He held up the picture and looked up at her with his head cocked to the side, a slight smile on his face.

But when Ino looked at her son she was surprised to see that his eyes were moist, and she couldn't help but give a slight sigh/chuckle as she wiped a tear from his face. Her son really wasn't just a child anymore. She tenderly spoke to him letting her worries slowly manifest in a less tense way.

 _Talking will help._

"I'm sorry. tonight was a bit... a lot, hard, but, I trust your dad and I know he'd never scare or hurt us if he could help it. I'm sure he'll have things figured out and under control soon." Inojin nodded lightly, and sucked in a breath.

"I heard some of the stuff that happened, it sounded pretty rough and kinda scary. I saw him leave too."

"Don't you worry, 'Jin. No matter what happens your father and I love you so much, and we'll always do whatever we can, and then some, to keep you safe. I don't know when he'll come back, since "soon" passed forever and a half ago, so why don't you go on to bed? A little sleep never hurt anyone." She booped him on the nose, something Inojin wasn't fond of, but he was too tired to protest, even though he tried not to show it.

"I'm pretty sure that's objectively not true, but I guess I'll try and get some sleep... just shout if you need help, okay?" He sleepily rubbed his eyes, but then quickly brought his traitorous arm down.

"I will, but only if I really, really need you, so don't hold out okay? Only one of us is getting any sleep tonight and it's gonna be you, that's not a request it's a requirement."

"Okay, okay. I'll try and get some sleep." With that Inojin went to his room and shut the door, meanwhile Ino went downstairs to get herself a cup of tea (if not something stronger) and settle down.

As soon as she had grabbed a teacup, however, she heard the front door open than close and went to go check it out.

"Hello? Who's there?" She approached the entrance to her home, flicked on the light, and gasped. The only sound that followed was the shattering of her teacup on the floor. Because standing in front of the door, looking fatigued and sweaty, was none other than her husband.

"Sorry I'm late."


	5. The Homecoming

**A/N** **: Hello for the fifth time guys! First I want to say sorry that this chapter is SO short. It is the shortest one, but I'm hoping they'll be longer. Second, I think I've been updating pretty consistently, but now the story's about halfway over and I'm gonna take maybe a week or two to write the rest. Once the second half is done then I'll post it too. Now, as usual I don't own Naruto and thank you for reading! Enjoy. :)**

* * *

"Sai!"

Ino just stood there staring at him. At his messy hair, his cutesy little smile, she took in his appearance as if she had not in many years. She was so surprised to see him, in fact, she didn't even notice when he crossed the space between them and pulled her into a right embrace.

"You're gaping." He gently wiped a tear from her cheek.

To some it might've seemed weird and out of place, but to Ino it was perfect, it was him, it was everything. She tightly hugged him back and began crying mixed with some breathy chuckles, as happiness, relief, and questions, to be saved for later, overwhelmed her mind.

"It's alright. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair. He just stood there and held Ino as she slowly calmed her mind.

"Inojin's in his room. He was pretty spooked too. I told him not to stay up, so naturally he did."

"I'll go see him while you... " He picked her up bridal style, carried her upstairs to their room, and set her down on the bed.

"Lie back, get some sleep, and know that everything is under control."

"Sai..." He lean down and gently kissed her.

"Thank you. For giving me wonderful things I had never even dreamed of having."

Ino curled up and got comfortable and Sai covered her with a blanket. Not knowing how exhausted she was Ino barely had enough time to mutter an "I love you" before falling asleep.

"I love you too."

Sai made his way over to Inojin's room and knocked on his door, no response. He walked in.

"Hey, 'Jin, I just wanted to-"

Sai stopped mid-sentence after seeing that Inojin was, indeed, asleep after all. It seemed that he fallen asleep while waiting for Sai's return as he was only half covered by his blanket. So Sai went and tucked him in.

Just as Sai turned to leave he heard a small voice call out his name.

"Dad, will you stay?" Sai smiled at his son.

"Of course."

"And you won't, you know, just uncontrollably paint or something like that. You'll be here to watch over me all night?"

Sai looked at Inojin in almost disbelief.

 _Is he making a joke? If so he's not very good at it... gets it from me I guess. My brave little boy..._

"Always."

Sai settled into a chair, it wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep, but he promised Inojin that he would stay, and he intended to.

After all Danzo was gone. Dead. Too dead to see that Sai did have anchors to the world. Whether they knew it or not they had saved him, time and time again. For this he would always protect them, no matter what it took. _Plus this chair is basically a fancy mattress compared to being hunched over all night._ He chuckled to himself, and kissed his son's forehead.

At last Sai deeply smiles down at his son and peacefully drifts to sleep.

* * *

 **Bonus A/N: I know I don't normally do these at the top and bottom so I'll try to be brief. Number one: thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this story. When I said I'll take a week or two to push out the next half I meant it. I don't intended to forget this and never come back to it. I'll be somewhere without internet and I'm working on another story so say 3 weeks tops, with any luck. Second: now that the first part is finished I would really be grateful if you would write a quick little review and let me know what you think. Until next time, C.B.**


	6. The Relapse

**A\N: Hello everybody! I'm back! As promised I haven't forgotten about this story and I'm actually more excited then ever to finish it now that we are coming down the home stretch, which means chapters with no purpose other than creating suspense! Yay! That kind of is the purpose of this one, but it still develops story and is enjoyable. (hopefully) Now one last thing I wanna give a shout out to Anna, a guest who dropped me my first review and inspired a lot of this chapter with their constructive questions, hope this chapter answers them. (They really help guys) Thank you so much! Now, I don't own Naruto, and please enjoy! :)**

* * *

The first week after the "incident" was the hardest for Sai. The whole of the Konoha 11 had heard that something bad had happened, even if they didn't know what. As such they wouldn't stop asking if he "felt alright" or insisting he went home just cause he had a headache. He understood their worry, but something about it still bothered him. He just wanted things to be normal again, something about it made him... angry, really angry.

He tried not to focus on this too much though, whenever he had thoughts like those they made him feel odd. Like they weren't his own. He didn't tell anyone about this, however, because he knew they would make an unnecessarily big deal of it, and because if the feelings went as quick as they came... why worry?

Eventually everyone began to settle down and before Sai knew it a month had passed. Ah yes, everything was going fine, just great.  
Until it wasn't.

* * *

That Tuesday, like most recent days, was perfectly peaceful, the kind of peaceful that could easily be seen as the calm before the storm. But perhaps we should skip that and get right to the storm.

It was very early the next morning when Sai woke up in the last place he would have expected. On top of Hokage Rock.

"What in the world? I feel like I slept on a rock, or rather lied awake on one all night."

Sai took a look around and noticed where he was and that he was surrounded by a red circle.

"Oh, crap."

I don't get it. _I thought I was done with this. I thought..._

Sai honestly didn't know what to think. A week ago he had felt so energized and inspired, but now, he couldn't help the sinking feeling of hopeless that began to overtake him. The feeling was, however, quickly overtaken by something else, pure fear of his wife.

"Ino's gonna kill me."

Sai got up, but was hit with a tidal wave of head rush and fell back down, hard.

"Okay, Ino will kill me... after an hour or so."

Sai waited a few minutes and tried again, slowly and with more success this time.

"It's a start."

He began he's descent from the top of the Stone Faces. He considered using his technique to fly down on a bird, but something in the back of his mind stopped him.

 _It's still pretty early and dark anyway, maybe no one will see me._

* * *

Before (too) long Sai made it home, and if he wasn't dreading seeing Ino before, he definitely was now. Especially with the edition of his new headache. Nevertheless he turned the doorknob and walked in. All the lights were turned off which made Sai a little more hopeful.

"With any luck that means Ino's asleep."

Just at that moment a voice spoke from the dark.

"She's not."

A light turned on revealing the face of his wife.

"Ino! Hi, lovely day for a stroll isn't it?"

"It's more like a not so lovely morning to get busted. I've given you as much time as I can Sai, but now it's time fess up."

Sai rolled his eyes at her.

"I already told you I have everything under control. "

"Sai so much weird stuff has happened, and is clearly still happening. There's no way you really believe that."

Sai's voice had a tense edge to it as he took Ino's verbal challenge.

"Well I do. And you can't tell me what to believe or what I have control over."

Ino sighed.

"Sai look, I'm sorry. Part of this is my fault. I wanted you to be alright so badly that I didn't let or ask the hard questions... or even be honest with you."

"What are you taking about?"

"The truth is that after the incident I tried to access your mind with my jutsu, but it didn't work. It was really weird, but I didn't say anything because you seemed so confident that everything was fine, and I didn't want to mess it up."

The tinge of tension in Sai's voice slowly became anger as he spoke.

"You tried to pry into my mind without my permission!?"

"I knew you weren't being honest with me! I realize that maybe it was wrong, but that's not the point!"

"What else haven't you been honest about?" Sai took a moment to think and answered his own question.

"Naruto! He said he was going home, but he wasn't even walking in that direction... You sent him after me!?"

"Only because I was worried about you, and rightfully so!"

Sai suddenly burst out fully losing control of his anger.

"An I supposed to care? Because I don't! If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times, I've got it and I don't need your stupid interventions!"  
Ino flinched at Sai's sudden out of character explosion.

"Just... stop, Sai."

"I don't have to listen to you."

Sai turned to go out again, but Ino put a hand in his shoulder to stop him.  
"Sai don't go."

He shrugged her hand off.

"I have you a chance, but if you want to keep interfering with my plans then you'll just have to be temporarily dealt with."

Before Ino could even blink Sai had pulled out a scroll and brought two lions to life groom the page.

"Keep her right there."

The lions backed her into a corner. She wasn't some helpless female ninja, but she knew that if she started a fight now she wouldn't win.

"Sai! What are you doing? Don't be ridiculous! Please sto-" Sai cut her off.  
"Oh, shut up! I always thought you were annoying, and ugly, but your shrilly little voice is getting on one too many of my nerves. ". He turned and addressed the lions.

"Keep her quiet as well."

Ino opened her mouth to speak, but before she could even get a word out the lions began growling at her.

"See quiet, not that hard is it?"

With that Sai turned and left into the dark.


	7. The Preparations

**A/N** **: Hey there guys, ready for another chapter? Hope so cause here it is! Two quick things first the underlined and italicized words are spoken over a device of some sort in this case a phone. Second a shout out to Lemonchello who took the time to write a wonderful and encouraging review, thanks! Whelp, enough yammering, it's story time! Enjoy :)**

* * *

Sai slammed the door behind him and immediately doubled over in pain, he spoke to himself in a voice that was deeper and raspier than his own.

"Gosh, when will he stop fighting!? That crud hurts!"

He let out a breath.

"No matter, I think the message will have been received. Isn't that right?"

Sai stood back up, shook off the pain and spoke on his normal voice.

"I have to get out of here before I hurt someone... or worse."

He looked back at his house with a somber look on his face.

"I'm sorry Ino I tried. I really tried."

He turned and began his trek away from his home both in building and village. The problem? He didn't notice the voice in his head telling him to go back to his place on Hokage Rock, or the fact that was listening to it nonetheless.

* * *

Meanwhile Ino was having problems of her own. For the past forty five minutes she has been stuck in the same place.

 _What do I do? I'm backed into a corner, unarmed and outnumbered with a couple of angry lions and a giant bird watching my every move. Not like I haven't been in weirder situations before._

Normally on her own Ino could've handled a couple of lions and a bird, but Sai had left a clone just for kicks and every time she even tried to move he would summon some new creature. (That's where the bird came from)  
Despite that Ino tried to think. Yes, these lions looked aggressive and the birds seemed ready to pack her to... whatever they decided was befitting, but Sai had put them there to keep her there not hurt her. If there was one thing she was sure of it was that Sai would never even try to hurt her if he could help it. Then again she wasn't even sure if the... thing that put these here was Sai, not the real Sai anyway.

Her train of thought was interrupted, however, when a kunai landed directly next to her head and the Sai clone suddenly exploded into a big inky mess. Even before the ink fell Ino quickly took her opening and destroyed the two lions. Just as she turned to get the bird it exploded into ink too, and standing behind it was none other than the mystery assailant. Her, wonderful, son, Inojin.

"Hey, mom. I... don't have to clean that do I?"

Ino pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Inojin! Look I'm really glad you're here, but... WHAT THE HECK TOOK YOU SO LONG!"

Inojin flinched in the face of his mother's anger and, knowing that she'd sniff out any lies, told her what happened.

"Sorry about that I had to wait and make sure that dad was gone for good, then wait for a good opportunity to strike and I think somewhere between there I... fell asleep?"

He sheepishly scratched the side of his head and flashed Ino a smile that screamed, "Yep, I'm Sai's son."

Ino sighed, with everything going on she was too relieved to be mad at him. (For now) So instead she pulled him into a crushing hug.

"Thank you."

"Mom... Can't... Air... Dad..."

Ino released him.

"You're right! Stay here, I'm gonna call for some help and go get your dad. I repeat: STAY HERE!"

"What? you wouldn't even be able to go if it weren't for me!"

"I know and I'm so grateful for your help, but I've got no idea what's happening or what we're dealing with. Being a ninja is hard enough without flying blind and being outmatched. I'd feel better and focus more if I knew for a fact that you were here, safe."

Inojin could see the worry and weariness on his mother's face and decided that it would be better not to argue.

"Okay. But... Come home in a timely manner, please? I don't want to have to come get you."

Inojin had a big, real smile on his face and his voice was steady and clear as he recited the same thing Ino told him every time he went to a friend's house, as if she were doing the same thing rather than going on a potentially dangerous mission to retrieve his father.

Ino felt an immense pride build up in chest, she could've coddled and babied her son all night, but there were more pressing matters to take care of, and she had no intention of letting her son down. She grabbed her phone, dialed the only number she could think to and went out to finally clean this mess up.

* * *

Naruto was in his office doing some very important Hokage stuff (sleeping) when Ino called. As he felt around for his phone he was still groggy and half asleep, but the moment he saw who it was he remembered the last time she called this early and snapped awake.

"Ino, what's wrong?"

" _I_ _t's Sai, he started acting weird and then he dramatically left into the morning. To put a long story short._ "

"Gosh... are you alright?"

" _There will be plenty of time for that later. Right now I need you to do something for me."_

"Of course. I'll be right there."

" _No, I need you for something else, let me take care of Sai, as usual._ "

"For the sake of time I'll trust you have your reasons."

" _I do. Now, here's what I need you to do..._ "

* * *

No longer in control of his actions Sai continued his trek up Hokage Rock until he was hit with another headache wave and fell to his hands and knees. He spoke again in the raspy voice.

"I don't care if I can't run or walk, I'll just have to crawl to my destiny. You can only delay the inevitable."

And crawl he did. All the way until he made it to where he needed to be... a familiar red circle, yet to be completed. He pulled out some ink, a paintbrush and a kunai and got ready to work.


	8. The Climax

**A\N: Hi again guys! sorry if it feels like the story is sort of dragging on, but I assure you the climax is closer than you think! (See the title). I'm excited to say that with this chapter things are starting to come to the end. (though that is bittersweet). I also wants to mention that starting now, unless specified otherwise Sai will be speaking the raspy demon voice, rather than his own. Well, I'll just let you read it now. :)**  
 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Ino wandered around for a little bit, unsure of where to find Sai. She tried looking for his chakra signature, but she couldn't detect it no matter how hard she tried. This would've scared her, but she knew that she couldn't afford to be scared, not now. Instead she decided that the most reasonable thing was to check his favorite places, and see if his conscious might've unknowingly taken him there. She checked his favorite places to paint, a few of the places that held meaning to her (Sai always said that visiting those places made him happy), even the hospital where he had, not told her he loved her for the first time, but meant it for the first time. (Long story). She couldn't find him anywhere.

Ino knew she couldn't give up, but she also knew that running around like a chicken with her head cut off would get her nowhere. So she decided to sit down and look to the Great Stone Faces for wisdom. after only a few minutes she felt a giant chakra surge from the top of the mountainous structure.

"Wow, that worked better than I thought it would. "

She stood up.

"To Hokage Rock we go."

She started toward the mountain.

* * *

Ino could feel the unease settle in her stomach as she made her way towards the unknown. As she came to the top she was greeted by the familiar back of her husband. He was hunched over something, and if she listened closely she could hear the faint sound of muttering. She let out a nervous chuckle.

"Really, Sai? Again with the hunching and incoherent muttering?"

"Hunching and muttering, yes..."

He stood up, turned around and looked at Ino.

"But, Sai? No."

Ino studied him more closely. He had Sai's face and clothes, but there was a different air about him. Everything from the way he carried himself to the expressions he made with her husband's face sent chills down her spine. He also had decent sized cuts in various places in his body, and don't even get her stared on the sound of his voice.

She was brought out of her thoughts when the, clearly not, Sai spoke up.  
"So... to what do I owe this, less than desirable, visit?"

"I'm here to-"

"Save your little husband?"

"Why did you ask if you were just going to interrupt me?!"

"Because I can, and also because no matter what you had said I know that the only thing you'll be doing is witnessing my uprising."

He motioned behind himself and when Ino looked she saw a red circle with a star in the middle and a u looking shape on each point of the star. Every part was red, but this particular shade looked like... and the cuts in his body... Ino felt her stomach turn. She had definitely seen worse injuries, but something about the principle of it made her feel ill.

"Looking a little green there. How did some queasy little wuss like you ever become a ninja?"

Sai was crouched next to the circle making hand signs. Ino snapped back to reality.

"Because I got tired of idiots like you asking stupid questions like that!"  
She rushed up to Sai and punched him in the face, hard. He flew back some distance and rubbed his cheek and has when he landed.

"Alright, strength and mind techniques. Not exactly difficult, but typical anime plot demands I transform into my first of minimum two forms and power up to about... half my full strength."

"What?!"

"Let me put this simply. You're annoying me, so I'm gonna power up real quick and... I don't know... Kill you!"

Sai was suddenly standing in front of Ino in the circle, and he made one more hand sign.

"Last one."

Ino could've sworn she saw a flicker of Sai's old gaze before she was thrown back, as a pillar of red light engulfed the form of Sai. The light was intense and caused the wind around then to pick up speed and dust.  
When the dust cleared the person that once could be called Sai had undergone a transformation.

His eyes were pitch black, cold, soulless and hungry. His lips were normal, but Ino could only imagine what they hid. His clothes had been torn and roughed up by the light and wind, and sticking out of two holes in his shirt were big, leathery, bat like wings. With a gasp Ino realized where she had seen him before.

"Y-you're that thing from Sai's picture."

"It's about time you realized what's going on, but you're too late, once I get your blood the transformation will be complete. That can wait until later, though. Right now it's time to begin the main event."

He lifted a hand and five giant balls of fire appeared in the sky.  
"Say goodbye to your precious village."

Ino's eyes widened as the Sai/demon hybrid lowered his hand and the balls of fire hurdles towards the Leaf Village.

"No, don't!"

The fire balls made impact and exploded in a burst of smoke and light.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed, just wanted to say that the (long story) I talked about will be mentioned at some point in this story, but I wanted to know if you guys think I should post it as a chapter here or as a separate one shot/story. Your feedback would be really helpful, thanks so much, guys! :) Also what did you think of evil Sai and Ino's dynamic that was something I was excited about showcasing! Feel free to tell me how I did. Until next time!**


	9. The Promise

**A/N** **: Hey guys, it's me. I honestly fell terrible about how long it's taken me to update this. I have my reasons or excuses (whatever you want to call them), but I know not everyone will care or be concerned with what they are... so I'll just say this: thank you all so much for sticking by and supporting me and this story while I was away. I will finish this story, that is my promise to you. If you ever feel like you don't think I'm going to, send me a virtual slap in the comments, I know I'll deserve it. I only hope you'll continue to support the story as we go through this journey, and hopefully this previous wait has not detoured you from this it. Again thank you and without further ado chapter nine.**

* * *

Sai threw his head back and laughed it off. It was so loud, so laced with evil that it is was bone chilling. At least it would've been, if Ino wasn't too busy being smug.

"You might wanna take another look at my _precious_ Konoha."  
Sai's laughter abruptly ended.

"What? Why aren't you crying and screaming and generally being annoying?"

"Because you were too busy being cocky to remember that I've got friends in various places. More specifically, I've got one Naruto and his shadow clones in various places."

Sai's eyes narrowed as he processed Ino's words, deciding whether or not they were lies.

"When?"

"One of the other times you underestimated me and my son."  
Sai's eyes widened in surprise.

"The kid? No way he-"

"He did, and the moment I was free I made a little bitty phone call."

* * *

(Flashback)  
 _"For the sake of time I'll trust you have your reasons."_

"I do. Now here's what I need you to do, make some shadow clones and place them all around the village. Be ready to defend against any attacks he might throw this way."

 _"Ino, I get what you're doing, but... wouldn't it just be easier if I fight him?"_

"Maybe if this was a normal mindless villain, but it's not. Sai's still in there, he has to be. This isn't a battle fought physically and it's not either of ours to fight. No one said it would be easy, but..."

Ino trailed off, but Naruto seemed to understand.

 _"I got you Ino, say no more!"_

"Thanks, Naruto."

(End Flashback)

* * *

"It would... _appear_ , that I underestimated you."

Ino moved to a fighting stance.

"If you weren't a cocky dastard maybe you would've done some research before attacking my village, hurting my family and underestimating me."

Sai rubbed his neck and gave a slight, humorless chuckle.

"Point taken, but don't worry Blondie, I never make the same mistake twice."

In a flash Sai was behind Ino. He kicked her across the mountain. She bounced a few times, barely missing the edge.

"Come on, Sai. I know you're better than this."

He did it again, only in the opposite direction, and harder. Ino let out a strangled scream.

"That name. I'm sick of hearing that name! Do you know how hard it is to enjoy kicking your butt if you won't shut up?!"

He grabbed her by the hair and growled out a warning.

"Say that name again and I'll kill you."

"No, you won't. Because he's still in there."

"Try me, I dare you."

Ino was breathing hard, but she managed to gather enough air for one last statement.

"I know... you can fight this, Sai."

Sai screamed and threw Ino straight up into the air. Just before she landed on the ground he caught her by the neck, and began tightening his grip.

"What was that again?"

Ino made a series of gasped filled, indiscernable sounds.

"Didn't think so. I think I'll enjoy watching the light leave your eyes more than watching you see your village be destroyed. What do you prefer? Maybe-"

"Dad?"

Sai's head snapped toward the sound, and when he saw who was there his eyes widened, and gain a small amount of their normal appearance.

"Inojin?"

Sai dropped Ino and she crumpled on the floor. Inojin moved to help her, but thought better of it.

"What are you doing up here?"

Inojin raised his eyebrows at Sai's question, which was spoken in his usual voice.

"I could ask you the same question."

Sai looked around and smiled both the look and sound of the demon returning.

"Oh, I'm just taking over the world, killing your mom, that kind of thing."

Inojin's eyes widened, but before he had time to say anything Sai grabbed his head and stumbled back, switching between his two voices, seemingly caught up in an argument with himself.

"You stupid, disgusting, dastard."

"I'm just having some fun, blame Danzo, or better yet yourself."

"Get out of my head!"

Inojin was having trouble keeping up, but Sai's last statement gave him an idea.

"Why don't _you_ get in of your head? Cause I'm sick of listening to you both. Mind Collapse Jutsu!"

Due to his sudden split and weakened state Inojin was able to hit Sai with his jutsu, and his dad crumpled to the floor. Inojin made a show of pushing up his nonexistent glasses.

"The Mind Collapse Jutsu. A jutsu that allows the user to send the target into their own mind. this technique has a variant of uses including - "

He was interrupted when he heard Ino groan on the floor.

"Oh, right!"

He rushed over to her and looked at Sai.

"It's up to you now, dad."

* * *

Sai groaned and say up. He was in the middle of a big open space, surrounded by nothing but darkness.

"Hello? Is anyone there?!"

Suddenly he got hit in the side of his face and rolled a good few feet before stopping.

"So glad you could make it, Sai."

Sai whipped his head around to find a figure who looked oddly similar to him. It spoke again and that's when Sai realized who it was.

"You escaped my grasp for quite some time, but now, thanks to your idiot son, I can finally eliminate you at the source."

"You!"

The figure rolled his eyes.

"Yes, me. You idiot. Took you long enough to figure out, but now it's too late."

"No. My son knew what he was doing. No matter how it came about I am a Yamanaka, the mind is my element and I will defeat you. This is the promise I'll make to you, right here, right now. and I've no intention of breaking that promise."

The demon Sai held out his hand and beckoned Sai over.

"Come at me then."

They both lunged toward each other at the same time and clashed when they met.

* * *

 **Bonus A/N: This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I decided to just post what I had to lessen the wait period. Hope that's alright.**


	10. The End Bits

**A/N** **:** **Hey everyone!** **I'm** **back with another chapter,** **and** **so soon too! I honestly don't have a lot to say** **this** **time** **. So just enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Sai and the demon stood on opposite sides of Sai's mind, both panting as the images of their fight flashed through their minds, but they weren't done, yet.

Sai and the demon both pulled out their blades from seemingly nowhere and struggled against each other. The demon took this as his opportunity to fight the battle in two fronts: physical and mental.

"Give up now, I know you want to."

Sai grunted as he struggled against his not-so-better half.

"Please, you don't know anything about me."

Sai practically spat in the demon's face.

"That's where you're wrong. You might not know anything about me, but I've lingered in your mind for years. I know _everything_ about you."

 _Years?_ _No way._ _He's_ _been here since that day?!_

 _"_ If you've been in my head for years, then tell me: why make your move now and not years ago? _"_

The demon put on a devious smile.

"If you really want to know... it's simple. Danzo was sure he would succeed, but on the off chance the Leaf got to him first it was my job to make sure they got what was coming to them. Needless to say I was a contingency plan. And you are what you've always been... nothing. A disgrace barely worth the life you were given. A replacement for that boy, Sasuke, was it? Nothing more than a stand in, even to your own wife."

Sai could feel himself shaking as a wave of emotions, thoughts and worries raged against his mind. As if that wasn't bad enough, he could also feel his grip slipping and weakening on his blade. He tried planting his feet, but they began slipping too.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did hurt your feelings? How you ever served Danzo I will never know!"

The demon made a big push and slash, leaving Sai sprawled on the ground. A gash on his shoulder and his blood painting the floor. Sai struggled to push himself up with one arm.

"You didn't even... answer my question... Properly."

The demon walked over and yank Sai's head up by his hair.

"That's too bad, but it won't matter soon anyway."

The demon sneered in his face before adding:

"By the way, nice wife you got there. I might just keep her."

Sai felt something explode inside him.

"Don't touch her!"

Sai lunged at his enemy and they both went rolling as Sai pounded the demon's face in.

"Haha, yes! That's the Sai I wanted to see!"

"And it's the last thing you ever will!"

Sai pulled out a scroll and began to paint on it.

"What are you doing?"

"What I should've done a long time ago!"

Sai raised two fingers to his mouth, Danzo's demon stopped him.

"As if you could use that technique all on your lonesome, without anyone to protect you!"

Sai cracked a signature smile.

"What are you talking about? I'm never alone. This is my mind, remember?"

Two figures appeared from behind the demon and held him back with and iron grip.

"What?! No!"

Sai's hands and paintbrush danced and flashed across the page as he finished his drawing at last.

"Sealing Technique: Tiger Vision Staring Bullet!"

The tiger popped out of the drawing and began to draw on his prey.

"No, this wasn't supposed to happen! No! No! Noooooooo!"

Just before the demon was pulled in for good Sai leveled their faces close.

"Take a good look, you won't want to forget the last face you'll ever see."

Finally the demon was brought into the painting, trapped forever.

A bright light enveloped Sai as he was transported out of his own mind.

* * *

Sai felt the cold, rocky ground of Mount Hokage beneath him, but he was so tired he could barely open his eyes, much less move. Out of the corner of his eye he stopped a multitude of messes of yellow hair.

"Geez, you look terrible... but we're happy to have you back."

Sai could barely make out the words through the ringing in his ears, but one thing didn't make sense.

 _Back?_

Where had he been and why was he so tired? Sai found it hurt too much to think, so he closed his eyes and let himself drift instead.

* * *

Naruto made his way back to the top of Mount Hokage. He had already taken Ino and her son to the hospital, and he apologized to Sakura for waking her up. (Though she didn't mind the extra shift as much when she saw who she was taking care of)

Now he was waiting to see when Sai would wake up and it was safe to move him. Inojin had explain his jutsu and told Naruto that it was better to wait until Sai released it on his own. So wait he did.

"Come on, Sai! I'm tired and hungry and I still gotta go to work later!"

He was sitting cross legged next to Sai's unmoving form.

"If you don't do something soon I'm just gonna leave you here."

As soon as Naruto finished speaking a blinding white light flashed in his eyes, extending from Sai.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Naruto shielded his eyes and after a minute the light faded away. Naruto took in his surroundings.

 _Huh, nothing really changed..._ _Sai_ _!_

Naruto saw that Sai's eyes were opened just a bit, but it was enough to tell him that the jutsu was released. He made a couple shadow clones to help him carry Sai back to the hospital.

"Okay, Naruto, mind explaining to me what exactly happened?"

"It's sorta hard to explain, Sakura."

Naruto was standing in Ino's hospital room, having taken Sai to his, and Sakura wasn't too happy.

"I get that, Naruto. But can you really expect me to be okay with it? My best friend and her husband were both found beat up, on the brink of death and you're acting like it's nothing. I'm worried."

Naruto could see Sakura's eyes were shining with tears. He pulled her into a comforting hug.

"It's gonna be alright. I wish I could say more, but it's not my place to say. When Ino and Sai are recovered you can ask them... it's sorta personal."

Sakura sighed.

"Okay, but I'm trusting you on this Naruto. If you say everything's fine... then it's fine."

"That's a pretty big compliment coming from you Sakura."

They both smiled at each other and got back to business.

"I took care of Ino and now I've got the best watching Sai. He didn't seem to have any external injuries, but there was blood covering his shoulder and he hasn't shown any sign of waking up since you found him. It's hard to know what's wrong without knowing what happened, but I'd assume it's just physical or mental exhaustion from a battle of some sort."

 _Mental exhaustion,_ _that's_ _certainly one way to put it._

 _"_ Thanks Sakura. I brought Inojin home to rest, told him he'd be able to visit Ino tomorrow... if she woke up. _"_

 _"_ He's strong like his mom, he'll be alright. _"_

Naruto lifted his downcast look and he and Sakura hugged again.

"I can only hope you're right."

"When am I not?"

 _Not even going to go there._


	11. The Truth

**A/N: Hi, guys! First off I wanted to give a big, big shout out to Lemonchello once again for leaving me another wonderful review. Thank you so much for your continued support and encouraging words. The first thing I did when I read your review was hop on an electronic and write this chapter. With any luck you'll like it, because this one is dedicated to you. I couldn't have written it with so much excitement and energy without you. Now to all my readers: Hope** **you're** **ready for the last chapter! :'( sad** **I** **know, but it was bound to happen. I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Ino was lying in her bed, having finally woken up two days after the incident. Unfortunately Sai had not.

"I'm just saying, Sakura, shouldn't he have woken up by now?"

Sakura sighed. Without much else to do Ino had brought up this conversation multiple times.

"He didn't sustain as many physical injuries, but he faced multiple psychological wounds. If he wakes up before he's ready we don't know what consequences that could bring."

Ino quieted, but didn't seem much more reassured.

"But... maybe we could bring you to his room and you could try talking to him? It may or may not make him wake up faster, but it might stimulate his brain and prevent certain amnesia like symptoms... And it might help you feel better. "

Ino lightly shook her head.

"Great. I'll go get everything ready and be back for you in a couple hours."  
Sakura turned and walked toward the door, but was momentarily stopped by Ino's voice.  
"Thank you, Sakura. Really."

Sakura smiled at her and left the room.

In a couple hours time Ino was wheeled to Sai's room and placed next to his bed. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Hey, Sai. It's me... I'm here, I'm okay. We're just waiting on you."

Ino wasn't really sure what to say, so she just stared at Sai's face, looking for inspiration. When none came she looked at Sakura, who was standing behind her.

"I don't know what to say."

"Just speak from the heart, tell him a story, something he'd know too... the first time you met maybe?"

Ino thought for a moment.

"I got it! Sakura do you think you could us alone for awhile?"

"Of course. Just let me know if you need anything.

"Sure thing."

Sakura went out the door and Ino turned back to Sai. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"Do you remember... our first kiss? We were assigned on a mission and you were put under a jutsu that made you fall in love with me. I thought it was great, until you became obsessed with me. I wasn't so fond of the treatment then, but I was just being selfish as usual. I hid it as well as I could and we got assigned on a mission. while we were on that mission we got ambushed. You were so busy "painting me in action" you couldn't help and I got hurt. They were about to finish me off, but you jumped in the way.

There was blood everywhere and you were so messed up, but you found the strength to day one last I love you. After that I was so mad, I don't even remember defeating the enemy or getting back to the village, but next thing I knew we were in the Leaf hospital. You were more hurt than I was, but you woke up eventually. And I remember crying and apologizing, but you knew just how to make me feel better.

Before I knew it you were staring to my eyes, I was kinda creeped out and worried that something was wrong or that you hated me so I asked you why you threw yourself in the way for me. To see if you were thinking clearly and do you know what you said? You said-"

"That I'd do anything for you, because you showed me what love was and I knew that loved you."

Ino's head snapped up and she stared at her now awake husband who smiled at her.

"You're gaping."

"Sai!"

Sai grabbed Ino and pulled her up so she was sitting in his lap. He brought her close to him, hugging her with everything he had. She hugged back just as tightly and cried a mix of regular tears and that of joy.

"You're okay! You remember!"

"I'm okay, _we're_ okay. You are okay, right?"

Sai moved her so he was looking at her face.

He sounded so concerned that Ino let out a relieved laugh. Sai, _her_ Sai, was back.

"I am now."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He put his arms around her waist and kissed her back.

After awhile Ino pulled away.

"That jerk is gone for good, right? No more angry evil Sai?"

"Nope, from now on it's just me. Hope that okay with you."

Ino pressed their foreheads together and kissed him again.

"It's perfect."

Sai let out a chuckle.

"Perhaps I should get possessed more often."

"Or I could just kiss you more often."

"That works."

As they kissed Sai laid back on the bed, taking Ino with him.

* * *

Ino awoke in Sai's arms to a gentle knocking on the door. She was still attempting to fully wake up when someone walked in.

"Hey, Ino are you still in- oh! Am I interrupting something?"

"No! Geez, Sakura try knocking a little louder next time, will ya?"

Sakura blushed slightly.

"Sorry, but there's someone here to visit you."

Inojin poked his head through the doorway, sheepishly.

"Hi."

Ino opened her arms wide.

"What's this "hi" stuff? Come here!"

Inojin wisely followed his mother's words and ran to his parents. The moment he got there they wrapped their arms around him. And hugged each other as a family. Everything was as it should be.

* * *

After that incident Naruto kept Sai under medical surveillance by Sakura and mental surveillance by Ino. He did his best to keep those incidents under wraps too.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell at least Shikamaru about this, Naruto? You were pretty clear on your transparency policy with him.

"I am sure Ino, I promise. After all it's the least I can do. People are prejudiced enough against ex-root members. They don't need to think they have reason to. Especially when they don't."

"Thank you, Naruto. If you ever need anything from me just let me know."

"You got it, Ino. Thanks."

* * *

"We should send Naruto a fruitbasket or something like that."

"Perhaps a ramen-basket would work better?"

Ino let out a laugh.

"There's one thing that still bothers me, though. You said that this demon had been lingering in you mind has been there for awhile, but why did he choose now to attack?"

Sai looked to the sky.

"I asked him that myself, but he didn't answer until after our fight."

Seeing Ino's confused face he added:

"While I was in the hospital he spoke to me."

(Flashback)

Sai stood once again in the middle of a sea of dark nothingness.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Really again?!"

Suddenly Sai felt a strong familiar presence behind him.

"Do I need to beat you again?"

Sai turned and faced his enemy.

"How did you even get out of that jutsu?"

The demon, now back in his original form, stepped out of the dark toward Sai.

"That might've held me for a bit but getting out of it was child's play for someone as powerful as me. And by the way, the name's Aku Naka."

"Well, Mr. Naka, what exactly am I doing here?"

"My contract with Danzo was over the moment you beat me earlier. That means I can give you the answers you're looking for. Well, technically I don't give anything."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you have to earn it. Beat me in a battle again and kill tell you everything you want to know. And if you lose... we'll cross that bridge if we get to it. What do ya say?"

Aku stretched out his hand and Sai looked down at it for a moment before taking it.

"Deal."

"Let's get started, then."

Aku tackled Sai and sent him flying. It seemed like Aku had gotten some new tricks since their last fight and Sai was just getting beating after beating.

"Honestly this is pathetic, show me the Root member that Danzo made."

Aku threw Sai to the floor. From there Sai could see the demon's tail, completely vulnerable and unprotected.

 _A_ _perfect_ _opening._

Sai was about to move when he remembered what Aku had said "show me the Root member that Danzo made."

"No. I am not just some creation of Danzo's. Because of all the people I've met. I am far more than that. I will beat you."  
Aku let out a howling laugh.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"I know when, I just don't know how. That's something I learned from Naruto."

Sai swept the demon's legs from underneath him and he fell. Sai immediately scrambled over to the demon and held a kunai to his throat.

"I win."

Aku began laughing.

"You might've pinned me, but I could be killed you a long time ago if I wanted."

"So, what was the point of all this?"

Aku offered Sai a hand and helped him up.

"Obviously it was a test. A long time ago I made a bet with a man by the name of Danzo. We did the same challenge, a fight. If he won owed him a favor, a huge one."

Sai arched an eyebrow.

"That explains a lot. I didn't think you seemed like the kind if guy who would listen to Danzo just because."

Aku threw his arms in the air.

"Finally someone gets it! But anyway, needless to say he won, but he used dirty tactics. That wasn't against the rules, but it angered me nonetheless. So when he asked me to take over your mind and harm your village, I played his game. But did it my way. Which brings to the matter of why I attacked when I did... it was because I knew you had more to lose."

(End Flashback)

* * *

"Essentially he said that he had seen hiw I grew as a person, how hard I was willing to fight for my family and he knew that if he attacked now, I would be able to fight him off. Saving my village and releasing him from the stupid contract Danzo forced him into."

Ino listened closely to Sai as he retold his story.

"He couldn't as for help because the contract forced him into silence and he couldn't choose not to do it because the contract is binding. If he just isn't fulfill his part after Danzo had something bad would've happened, but he didn't say what."

Ino nodded her head and interjected her own thoughts.

"I know it might sound crazy, but in a way, he wasn't a bad guy. He just got dealt a bad hand, but even then he did his best to do what was right in the end. That doesn't mean that I'll just forget what he did, but... maybe I can forgive him... just a little bit."

Sai hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you. It means a lot that you said that, because in a way we're a lot alike. Both struggling to forget our mistakes and escape Danzo's control. I can only hope his journey turns out like mine. Despite all these hardships... I guess I couldn't ask for a better ending."

Ino put her arms around Sai and they stood together, watching another beautiful sunset.

END

* * *

 **BONUS A/N: OMG! That's the end guys! I hope you liked** **the** **ending** **as much as** **Sai** **did. (** **Didja** **see what u did at the end there?) I'm really sad and happy at the same time.** **I'm** **glad** **I** **saw this story to the end, but also sad that it's over. I just want to say thank you to everyone who** **reads** **reviewed, favorited or followed this story. Your support meant so much to me and** **I** **hope** **you guys will stick with me as an** **author** **of other stories too.** **That** **story** **Ino** **summarized** **us being** **written** **and will be posted (hopefully) soon. (Be on the lookout Lemonchello!) Until then. See you next story! :)**


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